Officials with The County of San Luis Obispo Office of Emergency Services are urging some Oceano residents to prepare for flooding amid the upcoming storm.
The residents being warned include those in low-lying areas south of Highway 1 along the Arroyo Grande Creek.
Residents are being asked to remain alert and be prepared to evacuate to higher ground should flooding occur during the storm expected Friday.
County officials say the integrity of the Arroyo Grande Creek Levee remains stable, however, heavy rain is predicted and any spillover or levee failure could happen quickly with little time for residents to be alerted.
County Public Works teams will remain on call 24 hours a day to monitor weather, stream gauges, and on-site conditions.
County Public Works officials have permanently repaired the breach caused by the January 9 and 10 storms, reinforced the levee for 1,000 linear feet along the mobile home parks, and installed temporary repairs to another 1,000 linear feet of levee.
“Even though we are expecting less rain than we saw with the storms in January, the ground is saturated, and we need to remain vigilant,” said Emergency Services Manager Scott Jalbert.
County officials say residents surrounding the Oceano Lagoon should also be prepared for potential flooding and evacuation. The storm will continue to fill the lagoon and potentially overflow into surrounding residential neighborhoods.
If evacuations become necessary, emergency officials will use Wireless Emergency Alerts, broadcasts to local television and radio stations, as well as other notification methods as appropriate such as route alerting, sirens, or the reverse telephone notification system.
For more storm preparation information and locations to obtain sand and sandbags, visit ReadySLO.org
